Start Planting Grains This Season, Health Care Board Charges Farmers

The management of the Bayelsa State Primary Health Care Board charges all residents and farmers particularly land owners to start planting grains in this season in order to reduce malnutrition in the state.

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Executive Secretary of the board, Dr Appah Williams disclosed this while speaking to members of the Civil Society Scaling up Nutrition in Nigeria, CS-SUNN during a courtesy visit to his office in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

Dr Williams explained that grains are needed and the cheapest of them is corn which is easy to plant saying it can be used for making nutritious meals for children and even breastfeeding mothers.

” We need to build our grain bank. If you have a land or any land around you, plant corn, it can be used to feed fowls, cows and fish, reducing the cost of buying feed for these animals. It can also be used to make pap and other foods good for infants and breastfeeding mothers”

“We need cheap food, we need a feeding plan for breastfeeding mothers, a feeding plan that can be used with little resources especially for those not working”

While speaking on the Primary Health Care Centres across the local government areas in the state, he emphasized the need for all health workers to be diligent in carrying out their duties by ensuring that people at the rural areas have daily access to medical services.

” Our biggest problem is not shortage of manpower but inefficiency, people should go to work, our health centres should be opened everytime to attend to people”

He urged the stakeholders in the communities to ensure that the Primary Health Care Centres are properly located and secured for health workers to function optimally.

“We all have a role to play for the effectiveness of our primary health care centers, we should treat them well, take care of the facilities there, let the place be safe and protected for workers to do their jobs”

Chairperson of CS-SUNN, Bayelsa State, Mrs Ekinabhari Unity-Ototo pointed out that the essence of the visit was to inform the board about the activities of CS-SUNN, solicit for increase in budgetary allocation for nutrition to reduce malnutrition in children as well as the extension of maternity leave.

She noted that CS-SUNN in partnership with UNICEF is working with relevant stakeholders in Bayelsa State to improve food and nutrition among women and children.